front door panel issues (changing speakers)

[rod0921]

i can get the door handle bezel off...but thats pretty much it, it seems like the rest can pop off but i dont want to break anything...also for the window crank i think i may have lost some parts when i took it off cuz it comes off easily now...any help is greatly appreciated, thanks

[rod0921]

anyone?

[BeatnikTermite]

Did a search and came up with this.
From: DarkChobit
Forum: http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbul...hlight=speaker

I've done it lots of times. before you start your work, you need a few tools...
flat tip AND cross tip screwdriver, allen key wrench (4-5mm), and maybe some pliers.
the first thing you need to do is remove the small plastic plate just below the inside door handle using the flat tip screwdriver. inside you will see two (2) screws. these screws secure the center area of the door pannel. on the door handle itself, you should see the one (1) allen screw under the lever. remove that, and the other two screws. you are halfway there. now remove the corner plate near the rearview mirror area with the flat tip screwdriver. after that, all that's left is to slowly pry up the outer edges of the pannel from the plastic clips. after releasing the bottom area, you need to lift the entire pannel off of the window lip. be careful when doing this because your window and door lock controls have wires linked to the pannel. after removing the pannel, you can remove the connecting wires for the doors/windows (note: this is if you have power doors and windows. i have not seen or worked on a non-powered window/door malibu).
now that you have the pannel off, you can get to the speakers with the cross tip screwdriver. the speaker uses a special connecting device on the wires. you may have to mod the new speakers to bypass this problem. what i did was use the entire old connector and put it on the new speakers by leaving enough wire to do a splicing job. after you're done, just do all the stuff in reverse to put it all back together.

in addition, since a lot of people don't know this, you can use a larger speaker (such as a 6x9) in the front door if you rip out the styrofoam piece from the pannel itself. you may need to drill some holes to attach to speaker. for testing purposes only, i used duct tape. yes, DUCT TAPE! i didn't drill any large holes for the speaker itself either. but the original sized rear malibu speaker fit perfectly in the space with some room to spare.


DeeJay
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